Not Your Sacrifice
by coolcreate
Summary: A fic about Sabine's past and present. Inspired by the song 'Sacrifice'. Oneshot.


**The song that provided its lyrics for this fic is called 'Sacrifice' by Casey Lee Williams. I don't own it. (Surprise surprise) I also don't own Star Wars Rebels. It belongs to Disney.**

 _Close your eyes now, time for dreams. Death is never what it seems. Did the things you thought you should, all the things they said were good._

"Hey, Ketsu?" Sabine asked, sitting on her bunk.

"Yeah?" Replied the older cadet.

"What's the final test like?"

"Sabine, you know I can't say," Ketsu swallowed, hands shaking.

"Aren't any cams here. You can tell me. Happens all the time."

Ketsu burst into tears, rocking back and forth. Sabine's eyes widened. Ketsu never showed weakness. Never. This had to be awful, had to be an unspeakable horror. Sabine always had faith in the Empire, but this. To make Ketsu like this, it would have to be terrible. Sabine looked at her friend, then at the Imperial insignia tattoo on her hand.

"Ketsu?"

Ketsu looked at Sabine. "You don't wanna know, little sister." She shook her head. "You don't wanna know."

 _All your faith in ancient ways leaves you trapped inside a the lives of those you need, sow the death and reap the seed! Reap the seed!_

Sabine's hands shook. She raised the cold, grey, standard T-11 blaster, and set it from stun to kill. The click echoed through the room. She looked at the four people kneeling before her. Her mother, father, aunt, and uncle, who all looked at her with varying degrees of horror on their faces. The parents who raised her, kept a roof over her head, fed her, taught her the ways of her people. Thank the Manda they had the decency to spare little Roman. Sabine knew what would happen if she refused. The guards at the door would pull the trigger on everyone. Not Sabine, though. They would take her down the hall to another cell, where they would torture her for hours, and finally, just when she yielded, renounced herself to the Empire, they would kill her. Get another cadet to shoot her, just like she was about to murder her family senselessly.

Her father's voice echoed in her head. _Remember, Adiik, never show weakness. No mercy. That is our way. Align yourself with the winning force, and destiny will be on your side._

She took a deep breath, and raised the gun.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Done. Gone. Passed.

 _Born an angel, heaven sent. Falls from grace are never elegant._

"Help!" The marketplace was crowded, and Sabine had nowhere to go. The boy's blood covered the ground. Sabine covered her mouth with her hand. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He should have never got in the way. The theft should've been routine. Nothing out of the ordinary. But nothing ever goes according to plan.

A woman wearing beskar decorated with the House Ordo emblem shouted "Soulless murderer! Dar'manda!" She pointed at Sabine, who froze. The crowd took up the chant. "Dar'manda! Murderer!" Sabine ran out of the market toward the ship. She didn't stop running until she reached the ship.

 _Stars will drop out of the sky, the moon will sadly watch the roses die, in vain. Lost, no gain. But you're not taking me._

The ground was littered with corpses, shards of metal, and abandoned weapons. Sabine looked around for any sign Hera was coming to her up. There was none. The building smelled heavily of smoke, and Sabine could've sworn it was still burning. She didn't care. She ran toward the building, but stopped when she saw sparks flying onto the pavement below.

"Sabine?" Ezra's voice could be heard. It was coming from the burning building.

"Over here! Get out!" Sabine answered, waving.

Ezra sped out of the building, panting heavily. His com beeped, and he stopped. He looked at her.

"Go on, answer it!" Sabine sighed. _Ugh, can't you take a hint?_

"Kids? You alright there?" Hera's voice came through the com.

"Yeah, we're fine." Ezra answered.

"There's been a delay. We'll be there soon, in about an hour. Are there any survivors?"

Sabine heard the regret in Ezra's voice. "No."

"Alright, there's been a delay. We'll be there soon, in about an hour. Stay safe."

"You too." Ezra sighed.

They walked over to a collapsed wall and sat down. Sabine surveyed the scene. _What a waste._

"Hey, Sabine?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah?" The Mando replied.

"The war, it takes everything, right?" Ezra said, looking up at the smoke-filled sky.

"To some degree." Sabine looked over at Ezra, confused. "Why do you ask?"

"How do you keep it from taking you?" Ezra inquired.

"To put it in the simplest terms; you find your own way. You tell yourself; 'They can't take me, I'm not theirs', but you aid your cause any way you can."

 _You can't have my life, I'm not your sacrifice. You can try, but I'm free. And you won't conquer me. I won't crawl, most of all, I won't fall for you. _

Sabine lay on the table while the torture droid circled her. Governor Pryce grinned. "Sabine, Wren, is it? You were a cadet. And now you've come home. Little Mandalorian."

Sabine growled.

"Alright then, we can do this the hard way. You know, I think the Imperial Academy would be glad to have you back. You cannot escape your future, _akiir_."

Sabine's hands curled into fists.

"You could become a Mandalorian Commando, bring peace and order to your planet. Just give up. This little rebellion shall not last for long, just give up." Governor Pryce purred "What do you think, little one?"

"No." Sabine looked disgusted with the thought of Pryce's suggestion. "I'll never abandon my friends. Ever."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. The Empire does not own my life, nor does it own my mind. I can ally myself with whoever I choose. I am my own person, and I refuse to bring myself down to your level by adhering to your defiling standards. No. I won't go back. I'll never come back." Inside, Sabine was shaking with fear, but she projected a calm and relaxed image nonetheless.

"You little-" Pryce shook with sheer rage.

"Go ahead. Electrocute me. Kill me. I will live on. My life is mine. I'm not your sacrifice." Sabine leered at Pryce. "Well?"

 **I had a whale of a time writing this. Also listened to Sacrifice a bazillion times. You're welcome. If you could leave a review, that would be the most AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL thing that could happen to me today. Hint, hint. Thank you for reading, though. It means one hell of a lot to me. Merry Christmas,**

 **-Tasie :)**


End file.
